Funding the Modern American State, 19411995
Subtitle: The Rise and Fall of the Era of Easy Finance (Woodrow Wilson Center Press)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: January 26, 1996
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 350
ISBN-13: 9780521552400
Subjects: American history: postwar, from c 1945 -; Public finance; 20th century; United States; Taxation; History - General History; History: American; USA; United States - 20th Century; Taxation - General; United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000); History / United States / 20th Century; Taxation--United States--History; Finance, Public; History
Description: The fiscal crisis faced by the American federal government represents the end of a fiscal regime that began with the financing of World War II. In this volume, an interdisciplinary group of scholars explores the history of American taxation and public finance since 1941 in an attempt to understand the political, social, and economic forces that have shaped the current regime.

Specifically, they examine the historical context of earlier tax programs and national crises; explore the ways post-1941 governments used taxation to finance war, social security, and economic stability; analyze the politics of post-1941 tax reform; and apply history to a consideration of the dynamics that are likely to characterize future tax regimes.

The contributors recognize both the power of democratic forces outside the federal government and the influence of government institutions - the presidency, congressional leadership, professional experts within government, political partisanship, and constitutional strictures.